CYA Management

"A memorandum is not written to inform the reader, but to protect the writer."

Dean Acheson
Early 20th century American attorney/statesman

As is true with many of these quotes, not always; however, sadly, way too many memos, emails, etc., are written for just that purpose.

CYA

Not What You Say But How You Say It

"I have often regretted my speech, never my silence."

Publilius Syrus
1st century BC writer of maxims

If you've ever been involved in an office argument, you know what this means. Moreover while speech is one thing, the problem is compounded with email and text communication.

My email/text communication rules:

1. Never say anything negative to or about someone in email. If it is important enough to think, it is important enough to be said rather than written.
2. Let some time pass before having any conversation in which you plan to criticize someone else. You will often find you see things differently if you do.
3. If you need to say something negative about someone to a third person, have them present when you do.
4. What about ccing others? If you follow the first three rules, that won't be an issue.
   

Do you have rules? What are they?

Have I ever had problems with this? Why do you think I now have rules?

Conflict Resolution: Ban Email

"The greatest remedy for anger is delay."

Senaca
Roman Philosopher

Senaca's thoughts on anger came just prior to the birth of Christ so I think we can safely rule out the possibility that he was talking about the internet. But I will and specifically my opinion about expressing anger in email.

Don't do it.

Make a corporate law that says any words that can in any way be interpreted negatively must be spoken rather than written. Senaca had something else in mind when he said the best remedy for anger is delay but in this day of instant communication, forcing verbal communication coupled with the delay that comes from not sending an email is remedy for all.

Management: Virtual Reality

"There are managers so preoccupied with their e-mail messages that they never look up from their screens to see what's happening in the non-digital world."

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology

No doubt about it the internet is one of the most enabling business tools ever, one with a dark side. 

Consciously or otherwise when managers act as though all they need to know will come from that monitor they face each day, their connection to reality is lost.